I'm Not Afraid Of You
by Buddyboy98
Summary: Pre-ANH, One Shot: Senator Leia Organa never imagined that her first meeting with Darth Vader would be alone, in a turbolift.


**I'm Not Afraid Of You**

Senator Leia Organa had never been more irritated in all of her seventeen years.

The Senate Armed Services Committee just informed her that they were cutting standard social welfare funds from all planets in the Galactic Empire, which was roughly 10.4 Trillion Credits, to pay for some Military Project. Leia had long known that the Emperor had a tendency to cut Social Services to fund his pet projects, but this was getting out of hand. When the committee had gone into a closed session, free of the press, Leia had demanded to know what the hell the project was and why it was so damned important to throw put trillions of beings into poverty just to put for it, including the beings on welfare on the Planet that she represented. She was promptly laughed at, literally, by the Chairman of the Committee and a personal recipient of funds from the Emperor himself to contribute to his reelection and told that it was classified by order of the Emperor. Leia had tried all parliamentary maneuvers she knew to find out, but details of the project were tight.

"Send this to the Viceroy," Leia said as she handed the datapad of the meeting's details to her aide, her father would go ballistic over it and she was dreading his ensured rant over it.

The aide nodded, "Where are you going?"

"To the President of the Senate," Leia snapped at her, she didn't treat her aides like this, but she was enraged and didn't give a damn at the moment, "He'll tell me what I want to know."

"Do you want me to come with you?" The aide asked as she and Leia rapidly approached the lift.

Leia turned back to her and sighed deeply, "No, just send that to my father… and take the day off…"

And without another word to her, the Princess and Senator of Alderaan stepped onto the turbolift.

* * *

><p>What was it with this damn turbolift? Out of the dozens of them in the building, she had to get onto the slowest one. Leia, with her arms folded of her chest impatiently, looked over to the monitor that displayed her progress to the top level of the building and sighed, she was coming upon someone who wanted to get onto her same lift and that's why it was slowing down. Sighing, she walked over to the side of the lift and leaned against it as the lift finally stopped and the doors slid open. And right when she was starting to relax slightly, the lift was filled with a heavy breathing sound and the tall, imposing form of Darth Vader walked onto it. She watched as he held up a hand to the two Stormtroopers that were following him, "I don't need your assistance, return to the palace."<p>

When the two drone-like 'men' responded with their affirmation to his order, the doors closed and Vader reached to press the button that would take him to his destination.

Leia noticed that it was the same place that she was going to, Leia raised an eyebrow, "What a coincidence, I'm going there too."

"And who are you?" Vader responded menacingly.

"Senator Leia Organa," Leia responded, still leaned against the wall, "I don't believe that we've had the pleasure of meeting."

"_Organa_," Vader seemed to contemplate her last name and when he spoke again, it was that of distaste, "You're Bail Organa's Daughter?"

Leia nodded with a proud smile, "That's my father."

"You say that with pride," Vader dismissed her and turned back to the doors, "How quaint."

Her eyes widened at the implication of his words and his snide tone. The fearsome Dark Lord of the Sith, the Emperor's laphound, did not scare her at all, "At least he has a record to be proud of."

"Oh yes," Vader sounded thoroughly amused, "Idealistic, Foolish, Naïve, I suspect you're very much like him. I've known your father since before you were born child and I know that if he had ever held a position, he would have let some alien force come in and lay waste to the entire galaxy. And do not pretend that you know what I've done to protect this galaxy from people like _your father_!"

This drew Leia from the edge of the turbolift and right to Vader's imposing form. The things that made Vader fearsome to the rest of the Galaxy didn't have a sort of affect of Leia, it was strange, but she didn't fear him when she had every reason to fear him. Folding her arms over her chest, she glared at the Dark Lord, "Oh yes, I'm the idealistic, foolish, naïve one, I go around spouting this Imperial Propaganda of defending the Galaxy from these unknown barbarians at the gate. You've wiped out the Jedi. You've all but crushed all resistance, what's left to defend the Empire from?"

"You and I both know that I haven't crushed _all _resistance," Vader warned the girl with a knowing tone.

She cursed inwardly when for one split second. She showed actual fear on her face. Quickly replacing it with a look of defiance, she knew from the _laugh _that he let out, that he had spied the look of fear, "Did I strike a nerve Senator? You weren't aware that we were aware of _your associates_? Well we have been for a very long time, and we know that your father is a _founding member_ of that group. It's quite a shame really, we were almost prepared to arrest him for treason and sedition, but he retired and _you_ were his replacement. Imagine my surprise when I found your name on a list of contacts on a rebel freighter we raided, there was nothing else linking you to this group, but I know you're involved with them, just like your father, I can't prove it, enough to arrest you… _yet_."

"I'm sure that there are hundreds of people in this Galaxy with my name," Leia shot back hotly.

"_Possibly_, but there aren't many whose name and title read _'Leia Organa, Senator and Princess of Alderaan' _and I saw that title on the list myself," Vader countered, he sounded amused, "You're name was with others for political advisement and inside information on the inner workings on our Government. As I say again, I know that you're a traitor, but I can't prove it with 100 percent certainty, if we exercised authoritarian control and didn't have to worry about the Senate and the Court of Public Opinion, I would arrest you on that alone, be aware Senator, I am _watching_ you."

When he finished speaking, the doors to the turbolift opened and he made a gesture with his arms, "After you, _your Highness_."

Leia glared at him for a few more tense seconds before knowing that it was time to leave, she turned and departed.

She had been rattled by his words.

But she still did not fear him.


End file.
